


When I wanna say 'I love you'

by kris278m



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Boop (Song), Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, Music, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Volume 3 (RWBY), RWBY Rock, Renora, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Songfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, arcos, but not really a songfic, guess what song i listened to while writing this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 20:49:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21434500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kris278m/pseuds/kris278m
Summary: After an amazing performance from JNPR, Ren is ready for nothing more than to just relax and take it easy. However, Nora, and the rest of the band, has something else planned for him.(Takes place in the RWBY Rock AU)
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	When I wanna say 'I love you'

The crowd was ecstatic, as the last note of _Shine_ rang out, and Ren let out a breath of satisfaction. He was ready to call it a day and get back to his dorm. He looked over at his bandmates and noticed their cheerful smiles.

Jaune was fistbumping the air multiple times out of pure energi, and his guitar, strapped around his torso, bounced with the movement.

Pyrrha was waving at the crowd, her dazzling smile clear on her face, as she panted after singing her heart out.

Nora was smiling too, but Ren noticed, that her behaviour was a bit different, than it used to be. After a concert, she would always be quick on her feet, getting up from the drums and run to her bandmates to give them a bone-crushing hug, laughing loudly into their ears. Now though, she was sitting completely still, smiling, but unmoving. She had her usual cheeky glint sparkling in her jade eyes, but she was still seated, and that confused Ren a little bit.

He glanced back at Jaune, to see if he had noticed Nora’s odd behaviour too. Jaune was looking directly at Nora, giving her a small smile, then looked at Ren, and his face changed into that of a smirk. That only confused Ren more.

Ren looked back at Pyrrha, who was staring at Nora with an almost reassuring look, and Ren noticed in the corner of his eye, that Nora nodded in their direction.

This action seemed to wake them both up, and they immediately began to move. Ren immediately assumed, that were going to get down from the stage. He needed to ask them, what that was all about, when they got back, though. He was in the middle of plugging his bass out, when Jaune came rushing to him and told him to stop.

Ren was absolutely certain, that he had the most dumbfounded expression on his face, that was possible to mankind, and he slowly removed his hand from the plug.

“Why? We’re finished. _Shine_ was the last song.” Ren said with certainty, but he was proved wrong, when Jaune took a folded piece of paper up from his back pocket and, with a sheepish grin, folded it out to reveal sheet music. He handed it over to Ren and walked back to his previous position.

Ren stared at Jaune on his way back, then glanced down at the sheet he was given, then at Pyrrha, who was smiling warmly at him, and then at Nora, who was avoiding his gaze and blushing furiously. Ren concluded, that it must be because of the heat on the stage. His cheeks were probably red as well.

To say that he was confused was an understatement. He had heard nothing of this supposedly new song, they were about to perform, he had not practiced, and his bandmates had not said a word to him. They had only discussed the usual songs, which they already did perform. It did not make that much sense to him. Except for the conclusion, that they had been practicing without him. But that would only raise more questions. Why? When? Where?

Ren looked to Pyrrha for an explanation, but all he got was an apologetic look, and her mouthing a quick ‘Sorry’, before turning back to the audience.

She cleared her throat, into the microphone she was clutching, and Ren waited, eager for an explanation.

“Alright everyone, we have one last song for you today. This song is written by our one and only drummer, Nora Valkyrie! And she wanted me to tell you all...”, she turned her gaze to look at Ren, “that she wrote this for our bassist, Lie Ren!”

Ren’s eyes widened, and he turned to look at Nora, who was looking straight ahead, a smile plastered on her face, still with a pink blush present across her cheeks. He heard Pyrrha yell out a quick “Enjoy!”, before everything went silent, and she played the first note on the keyboard in front of her. Her lips parted to chant out the first words.

_Never knew a time_

_When you weren’t by my side_

_The one thing I could always count on_

Ren saw, how Nora’s face changed, and he did not fail to notice, how her small, shy smile turned more sincere, and how she finally turned her gaze to look directly at him.

_Always there for me_

_You’ve been my family_

_Even when all other hope was gone_

Ren heard Jaune’s voice join in as the background chorus, but he could not bring himself to look at them. He did not hear Jaune’s guitar just yet, so he prayed, that it was not his turn to join in on the bass either. He had his eyes locked with Nora’s, and he felt a sudden wave of deep appreciation flow over him. She wrote this song specially for him and wanted to keep it a surprise. Until now.

_But for a while things have seemed so different_

_Like it’s the same, but still brand new_

Ren’s eyes widened. He did not dare to tear his gaze from Nora’s, who was beginning to look a tiny bit self conscious about all of this. Ren could see her struggle, he could see, how hard it was for her to keep looking at him, as intensely as he did. He hoped, that he looked reassuring to her.

_I can’t believe it_

This was it, Ren realised, as he noticed how Nora’s hands clenched her drumsticks. He listened carefully to Pyrrha’s smooth voice.

_When did I start to fall for you?_

Ren had to hold back something between a choke and a gasp, as Pyrrha drawed out the last three words, almost to clarify or emphasize it’s meaning. He felt his body go completely numb, his throat went dry, and a faint warmth was spreading on his cheeks. Nora finally looked down to focus on her drums instead, and it was only then, that he realised, Jaune had started playing his guitar, and that he probably should start playing his bass as well. He fumbled with the strings for a moment and turned to look at the sheet, Jaune had handed him earlier, and he cringed a bit at the realisation, that he was late on the notes, but those thoughts were soon gone, when he heard the crowd cheering them on. He figured, that they must have catched on, at what was happening on the stage.

He forgot about everything though, when he heard the next words leaving Pyrrha’s mouth, and he gave them his full attention. He was skilled enough, for his fingers to go autopilot on the strings.

_Have I lost my mind?_

_Have I just been blind?_

Ren had noticed over the years, how Nora had been getting flustered more easily. He had always just brushed her flusteredness off, as her growing up and changing, though. Besides, she was always acting like herself again immediately afterwards, so it probably did not mean anything, right? That was what he always thought, until now.

_Never to have seen you might be_

_Everything I need_

_Everything I dreamed_

_All along has it been right in front of me?_

Ren met Nora, when they were children, and since that time, they had always been together. They got to watch each other grow up, physically and mentally speaking. They have been a part of each other's life since the beginning, and Ren could not be happier with the fact.

_We’ve been together for a long, long, long, long time_

_I never thought that you and I could be a thing_

Heh.

_I can’t believe it_

_This is happening_

It really was. And Ren was glad.

_I think ‘Oh, woah, what am I to do?’_

_I didn’t know that I would fall in love with you!_

There it was. The final clarification that would confirm it, to any confusion or any questions that might be left. Nora was in love with him, and she wanted her confession to be something special. Ren felt an immense warmth in his whole body, and he was pretty sure, that it was not just because of the heat from standing on a stage, the bright spotlight in his face, the fact that the crowd’s attention was directed at him, or the adrenaline flowing through his body, that did it.

_And what to do right now_

_I haven’t got a clue_

Ren knew exactly what he should do about this, though

_I just bite my tongue_

_And when I wanna say “I love you”, I say_

Ren’s shoulders stiffened a little bit, when he heard the drawn out word from Pyrrha. She repeated one single word, but it was enough to send Ren’s stomach flying.

_Booooop_

Jaune chanted “Boop Boop, Boop Boop” in the background as well, and it created a beautiful harmony between them.

Ren remembered being 12 years old and having Nora standing in front of him, fiddling with her hands. She had told him, that she wanted to tell him something, like any 12 year old about to tell their crush they like them. Ren was waiting patiently. In the end, she just ended up pressing her index finger against his nose, grinned, and let out a small “Boop!” Ren had been so confused by the gesture, but she had just brushed it off, and then they had been on their way.

_Booooop_

When they were 13, Ren remembered sitting on a cliffside with Nora beside him, looking out at the sunrise and getting ready to hike down the mountintrail. There was a content silence between them, something that Ren rarely experienced with her, and he quite enjoyed their quiet little moment. That was, until Nora had broken the silent peace of the morning. “Hey, Ren?”. Ren had hummed and turned to look at her. She had a bright and cheerful smile on her face, and then she said it again, while briefly touching his nose. “Boop!” Afterwards, she looked back at the rising sun, and everything was still again. Ren had blinked, but said nothing nonetheless, and he turned his gaze back as well.

_Booooooop_

The last Boop was quite a bit drawn out, more than the others, and Jaune quieted down.

When they were 14 years old, Ren remembered walking in the forest alongside with her. She had laughed mischievously before sprinting off, and he had stuttered out her name, out of surprise. He tried to run after her, to keep up with her pace, but Nora had always been the faster one of them, and, before too long, he was left alone with no idea about, where she had run off too. He started calling her name and began to walk at a slower pace to try to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. There was no way, she was leaving him, right? No, they had been together for far to long, and besides, Ren knew, that Nora was not the kind of person to pull a stunt like that. He trusted her way too much, for him to believe such a thing. She was probably just hiding from him. Yes, that sounded more like something, she would do. Ren’s suspicion were confirmed, when he heard a familiar giggle above his head. He looked up, just in time, to see Nora jump down from the tree, she was hiding in, while letting out something similar to a warcry. Ren yelped, but it was too late. She landed on top of him, and they both tumbled to the ground, all the while Nora giggled excessively. Ren stared up at her with an unamused glare. She only grinned at him and, like she had done so many times, giggled a small “Boop”, along with her touching the tip of his nose. Ren sighed, but a small smile was still present at the corner of his mouth.

_Every chatelaine_

_Wants to share her reign_

_So come and join me in my castle_

Ren thought back, to all the times Nora had claimed herself to be the ‘Queen of the Castle’. She seemed so happy, no matter how silly the situation was. She was so easily excitable. It was a very loveable trait of hers, how cheerful and positive she always was.

_We’ll crush our enemies_

_Bring them to their knees_

However, she could be serious, when the situation called for it. Nora could be extremely protective of her friends, Ren should know better than anyone. Despite her small frame, she was very strong, a fact that is well known to anyone, who dared mess with the ones, she is close to. She does know of the wrongs in the world, and she wants to to make it a better place, and to make people happy. And that was very admirable of her, in Ren’s opinion.

_And though I have a tendency to babble_

True. It was cute, though.

_But when I think about you, I can’t help my heart from racing_

_My mind goes fast, and my knees start shaking_

_My stomach does flips, and my brain does flops_

_And the feelings that I’m feeling, I don’t think that I can stop_

Pyrrha began to sing really fast all of a sudden, and Ren figured, that it must be Nora trying to mimic her rambling. That was a pretty creative way of describing it, Ren thought. He needed to process the lines, that were being sung, though, because of the fast pace, but when he did, his blush only deepened, and he wanted so badly to turn his head, so he could see Nora’s reaction to all of this, but he had to keep his eyes on the sheet music to not mess up.

_I could just say it - I love your everything!_

_But I can’t quite tell myself if you’re feeling quite the same_

Ren was pretty sure, he knew the answer to that now, though.

_Maybe I should slow it down, try to show restraint_

_Hold Magnhild, I think I’m gonna faint!_

Pyrrha’s singing was slowing down again, and Ren felt kinda relieved. Jaune started to play a solo on his guitar, and Ren tried to keep up with him.

To think, that after all this time, all those years, _this_ is what she meant, by that one word repeated over and over again. She must have been way too nervous to say it previously. It was a little bit funny though, that instead of just telling him privately, she wrote a whole song, about how much she had loved him all these years, and then she decided to perform it in front of an audience, with him not knowing anything. Oh yeah, when did they even practice this, anyway? Ren could not remember them ever sneaking off, so they must have done it, when he was out of their dorm. Maybe when he went to the gym, or when he was shopping for groceries. Nora usually went with him for that, claiming that she either wanted to know which ingredients, he put in his pancakes, or to make sure he picked the right ones. The last couple of days, though, she had stayed with the others. Ren figured now, that it was to practice in secret.

He noticed now, that while he was deep in thought, Pyrrha had walked over to stand beside Nora, handing her the microphone, before hurrying back to her spot behind her keyboard and continued playing, from where she left off. Lucky for Nora, the next part could be done with one hand and two feet on the drums, while she tightly clutched the mic in her other hand. 

Meanwhile, Jaune had walked over to stand beside Ren, and he gently bumped his shoulder with his, encouraging him to look back at Nora. Not like he was not planning to do that in the first place. She was looking at him with a nervous, but eager expression. She smiled and opened her mouth to continue the song.

_I think ‘Oh, woah, what am I to do?’_

_I didn’t know that I would fall in love with you!_

She looked directly into his eyes.

_And what to do right now_

_I haven’t got a clue_

_I just bite my tongue_

_And when I wanna say “I love you”, I say_

Her voice was far from as smooth and trained as Pyrrha’s voice, but Ren could see, why she would want to sing this part. He could feel the genuineness in her words, and the way she seemed to sparkle, when she finally, _finally_ got the chance, to tell him how she felt. Ren felt the corner of his mouth pull up a tiny bit, before he got the chance to stop it. He did not really care, anyway. He only cared about listening to Nora’s song for him.

_I say Booooop!_

When they were 15, they had been working for weeks to build their preferred instruments, and they were almost done. They were enrolled in Sanctum Academy, a school for future musicians, and it was required for the students to provide, or to build, their own instruments during the year. They had practiced on some of the school’s instruments until now, while studying the structure of them. They wanted to build their own instruments, instead of just buying one that is professionally made. A bass for Ren, and a drum kit for Nora. They wanted to work on them the whole night. They got pretty far as well, but, of course, they ended up falling asleep. They were both tired and overworked students, so you can not really fault them for it. They woke up, lying next to each other with a half-finished bass, and drums scattered around the floor. Nora ended up laughing, and Ren had smiled at her happy face. A chuckle escaped his lips, and Nora suddenly stopped. “What?” He had asked. “Nothing”, she replied. “I just don’t see you laughing much. I like it. Your laugh, I mean. Not the fact that you don’t laugh. I like your laugh.” She was rambling again, and his eyes went to the floor, out of embarrassment, but then he felt her finger on his nose again. “Boop.”

_Boop Boop Boop Boop Boop Boop Boop Boop Boop Boop Boooop!_

They were 16 years old, when they had their first live performance in front of an audience. Ren remembered him being nervous, and he remembered Nora being there to cheer him up. He had always been good at shielding his emotions from the rest of the world, but Nora saw right through him every time. She had put her hands on his shoulders and had told him, that it was going to be alright, after all, they were awesome and had practiced for months now! Ren had exhaled through his nose and made a face, that was supposed to come across as a nervous smile, but ended up looking more like a grimace. She had grinned at him, when they were called upon to get on the stage. And she had laughed triumphantly, once they were done. Ren watched her with a content and pleased expression, and she turned to him, grinned, and did the thing, she always had done. “Boop!” she went again, with her index finger against his nose. He smiled genuinely.

_When I wanna say ‘I love you’ I say_

When they were 17, today, they were backstage. Ren was much less frightened today, than he was one year ago, his bass safely tucked around him. They have been through so much together, him and Nora, but it is not just them anymore. They have Jaune and Pyrrha now, too. They became friends with them, and they enjoy their company and being in their band JNPR. But he has known Nora for far longer time, than he has known the other two. Nobody can take away the bond, that they share, and nobody can break, what they have together. 

Because Ren loves her. And he knows that. He fondly remember her muttering his name, before they got on stage, him turning to her, and her doing the same small gesture, she has been doing for years now. Her index finger, quick on his nose, as she says the same word, he has been hearing for years now.

_Boop!_

And with that, the song was over, and Ren was brought back to the present. The crowd went wild, but they were only background noise to Ren, who’s attention was directed at Nora, and the way she looked so utterly relieved, joyful and as excited, as Nora can be. She got up from the small stool, she was sitting on, while Pyrrha and Jaune bit the crowd farewell with a comment about “Being an amazing audience!”

They walked off the stage together, and then they were suddenly alone backstage, the silence hovering over them like a thick blanket. They all looked at eachother, not really knowing what to say or what to do, until Pyrrha firmly grabbed Jaune’s hand, telling the other two that they were going to “Go get something to drink, we’ll be right back!” Then they were gone, and Nora and Ren were left alone.

Nora laughed uncomfortably and looked at her feet, obviously feeling very awkward about the situation. Ren knew that feeling. He had no words as well, but he kept looking at her, searching for her gaze. She did not seem to follow, though.

He ended up placing a hand on her shoulder, causing her jade eyes to finally turn up and meet his magenta ones. Ren swallowed and tried searching for the words, he could not find. He opened his mouth, but ended up closing it again, and he blinked one, two, three times.

All the while, she looked at him, patiently, waiting for him to say something.

He wanted to tell her so many things, but could not.

He wanted to tell her, how much her presence these years, had meant to him. 

He wanted to tell her, how her ability to motivate him, was the thing he mostly looked forward to, first thing in the morning. 

He wanted to tell her, that she had always been one of the reasons, he kept going, when he lost it all as a child.

He wanted to tell her, how stupid he felt, that he had not realized sooner, what she really meant, when she kept repeating the word.

He wanted to tell her, that no music was worth playing, without her by his side. 

He wanted to tell her, how much he loved her.

He wanted to tell her, how much the song meant to him, that he was relieved, happy and surprised.

He wanted to tell her, how _blessed_ he felt to have her look up at him right now, with the same pair of eyes, the same pink lips, the same rosy cheeks, the same face, the same laugh, the same her, when she had first told him, she loved him, without him even knowing.

But he could not. Not in that moment, at least.

Maybe someday, he would find the right words to tell her. But right now, the only thing that mattered was this one moment.

Without thinking, he grabbed her hand with one that was not on her shoulder.

“Boop”, he silently muttered, just loud enough for her to hear.

Catching onto the meaning immediately, her mouth made a small ‘o’ shape, before breaking into a huge smile. Butterflies were swarming in his stomach, as she let go of his hand and threw her arms around his neck, laughing softly. He stumbled back a bit at the impact, before regaining his balance, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. He was smiling as wide as her now. He chuckled and realised, that this was the only thing, that mattered right now.

Not the way, he heard the crowd cheer in the background, as the next band got up on stage.

Not the tiny gasp behind him, that he recognized as Jaune’s voice, right before a shushing sound made by Pyrrha, and then quiet footsteps slowly fading out.

Not the fact, that everyone will probably want to hear about this, once they get back.

The only thing that mattered right now, was the way, the girl is his arms quietly giggled into his ear.

How he could not help himself, as he pressed his lips against her damp forehead.

How that one moment felt so important and radiant, Ren felt more content, than he had felt in a very long time.

Nothing else mattered in that one moment, and as the crowd kept cheering on, it felt as if, they were cheering for them.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment what you think. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!


End file.
